FedEx Field official: Redskins removed seats they couldn’t sell

What was once one of the most difficult season tickets to obtain in the NFL has become a whole lot easier.

So easy, in fact, that the Washington Redskins have removed thousands of seats from FedEx Field.

The Washington Post reports that Lon Rosenberg, the vice president of operations at the team’s stadium in Landover, Md., said in a radio interview the seats that were removed to create two party decks were offered to fans on the season-ticket waiting list and “these are seats that they were not wanting to buy.”

The capacity of FedEx Field will be reduced from 91,704 – the largest in the NFL – to 82,000, which will make it No. 2 in the league.

Rosenberg said the decision to create the party decks wasn’t about the inability to sell season tickets, but the desire to improve the fan experience by reducing traffic and lines in the stadium. Sure. Suddenly the Redskins are concerned about the fan experience more than they are stuffing fans into the stadium? It seems highly unlikely to us that if those seats were purchased on an annual basis that they would have been removed from the upper level end zone areas for party decks.

“I’m saying what we removed from the stadium is to give people a little more room,” Rosenberg told ESPN 980, a part of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s Red Zebra radio empire.

A team spokesman said the club still desires to install party decks but that nothing has been done yet. So, while it was originally reported the party decks would be completed before the start of the regular season, that may no longer be the case. It sounds like the Redskins either aren’t sure what they want to do or are stalling for some reason.

Whatever the case, the seats are no longer there and that’s a product of the fact that they haven’t been desirable to the public. When you don’t win, it’s harder to sell tickets. Even a franchise that has had sellouts dating back to 1966 will eventually realize this.

Welcome to National Football Post

Our mission is to provide you with the best insights and news from around the NFL and College football. Our team of insiders have been close to the game their entire careers and provide insights you won't find anywhere else. But it doesn't stop there. You are a pivotal part of our community. We have some exciting features through myNFP that we'll be releasing in the coming weeks. You can create scouting reports, build and share mock drafts, and get your take on the football world out there. Thank you for including us among the places you go to learn about the game you love.